Chapter Text
Aaron thinks that after his talk with Josten, the topic of scars was officially closed. Well, that was before three days after he’s sitting in his dorm when Andrew appears out of nowhere, stands above him and says: “I have never asked about your scars.”
Aaron looks up to him in surprise. Andrew’s face is as impassive as ever and Aaron isn’t sure it that’s a genuine question or not. “Is that what you want to talk about?” He asks, doing his best to make it sound as friendly as possible.
Andrew winces a little, having his own words thrown back at him, but realizes it probably wasn’t Aaron’s intention, so he shrugs and sits on the couch next to him. He keeps looking in front of himself, not meeting his brother’s eyes. “It was you who brought it up.”
“And you were quick to shut it down,” Aaron reminds him.
“You made it sound like I was a freak.”
Aaron stares at him. “I never said that.”
“Not in so many words.”
“Andrew. I never wanted to give you that impression. I don’t think you are a freak,” he says in the most sincere tone he can muster.
“Why do you talk with Neil about me behind my back then?” Andrew hisses.
Aaron flinches, caught up. “I…”
Andrew raises an eyebrow, silently daring him to continue.
“I just wanted to make sure you weren’t lying to me.”
“When have I ever?”
Aaron shakes his head. “Let’s make a new deal,” he says instead of answering. “I’ll give you whatever you want if you promise you won’t hurt yourself again.
Andrew blinks at him, unimpressed. “I want nothing.”
Aaron scoffs. “That’s not true.”
“Even if it wasn’t. You don’t care about deals much. How do I know you won’t break it like the last one?” Andrew asks sneeringly.
Aaron frowns at him. “That was different.”
“Was it? What if I said I want you to stop seeing the cheerleader? What would you do?”
When Aaron remains silent, Andrew smirks. “Little tip for the future. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
Aaron crosses his arms over his chest. “I’ll show you my scars if you show me yours. Truth for truth.”
Andrew momentarily wonders if Aaron knows about his game of truth with Neil or if he just said it at random. Either way he nods. “Fine.”
Aaron shifts so he’s facing Andrew. “Now?”
Andrew seizes him, his expression unreadable. “Whenever.”
Aaron sighs, but pulls his hoodie over his head. He has a T-shirt underneath. He presents Andrew his forearms, which are covered in faded track mark scars. “These are from the drugs, obviously.” He smirks. “Could you believe I was terrified of the needles at first?”
Andrew’s gaze flickers between Aaron’s face and his arms. “How do you want to be a doctor when you’re afraid of needles?”
“I’m not anymore. Or at least not that much.”
“Hm. What’s this one from?” He points to a bigger scar on Aaron’s bicep.
“That was from when mum threw a broken bottle at me.”
Andrew clenches his teeth. “She was a bitch,” he hisses. He sees how Aaron bites his lip, clearly trying to keep his mouth shut and smirks. “Not going to defend her honor?”
Aaron glowers at him. “She was a bitch. But she was also still my mother.”
Andrew shakes his head. “And Drake was still my brother.”
Aaron flinches at hearing that name. “Don’t.”
Andrew gazes at Aaron, suddenly very interested in the conversation. “Did you know I started to cut because of him? Because every time he forced his way into my bed I had to somehow remind myself that I’m still alive? Did you know he laughed when he saw the cuts for the first time?”
“Please, stop,” Aaron whispers, his voice quivering.
Andrew narrows his eyes at him. “I begged him the same,” he adds instead. Aaron looks at Andrew, clearly horrified. Andrew just returns his gaze, unperplexed. “You wanted to talk about this,” he reminds him.
Aaron takes a shaky breath, composing himself. “What made you stop?”
Andrew shrugs. “I don’t know. Bee helped, I guess.”
“What about Josten?”
Andrew glances at him at the mention of Neil’s name. “What about him?”
“Does he help?”
Andrew thinks about the answer for a minute before nodding. “Yes.” He seizes up Aaron again. “Does the cheerleader help?” He knew Katelyn was against drugs. He wouldn’t allow her to go anywhere near Aaron if she wasn’t.
Aaron seems surprised that Andrew asked, but nods as well.
“Good.”
They are both quiet after that for a while. It is Andrew in the end who breaks the silence with: “I take the deal.”
Aaron glares at him in shock. “Oh?”
“I’ll promise you I won’t hurt myself again if you promise me you won’t do drugs ever again.”
Aaron keeps looking at Andrew as if unable to believe his ears, before nodding. “Okay. Deal.”
So yeah. Maybe they are going to be okay after all.